SCRAP recycled donations of carpet samples into a runner utilizing duct tape photographed in San Francisco on Tuesday, March 10, 2009.

Photo: Eric Luse, The Chronicle

SCRAP recycled donations of carpet samples into a runner utilizing...

Image 4 of 9

Linda Levitsky uses corks to make a cork frame its part of using stuff you have around the house to create art pieces. on Thursday Feb 26, 2009 in Oakland Calif

Photo: Kurt Rogers, The Chronicle

Linda Levitsky uses corks to make a cork frame its part of using...

Image 5 of 9

One of the projects the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse is using discarded wine corks and an old frame to make an art piece. Linda adds moss to the corkboard for some color.on Thursday Feb 26, 2009 in Oakland Calif

Photo: Kurt Rogers, The Chronicle

One of the projects the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse is using...

Image 6 of 9

Hundreds of fabric samples to full rolls are at SCRAP which are available to be recycled in to variety of projects photographed in San Francisco on Tuesday, March 10, 2009.

Photo: Eric Luse, The Chronicle

Hundreds of fabric samples to full rolls are at SCRAP which are...

Image 7 of 9

A finished pillow cover from fabric samples at SCRAP are available to be recycled in to variety of projects photographed in San Francisco on Tuesday, March 10, 2009.

Photo: Eric Luse, The Chronicle

A finished pillow cover from fabric samples at SCRAP are available...

Image 8 of 9

Fabric samples at SCRAP are available to be recycled in to variety of projects photographed in San Francisco on Tuesday, March 10, 2009.

Spring is here and with it comes a perfect opportunity to freshen your nest. The problem is that this year, unless that nest sits in a money tree, you may be trying to do more with less.

Consumer spending has been contracting, and household furnishing budgets are a discretionary category feeling the pinch. Mint.com, a Mountain View company that provides a free online money-management service for 900,000 users, ran an analysis of its customers' budgets and found that spending on the "home" category, including furnishings, services and home improvement, was down 21 percent from January to November 2008.

But a smaller or nonexistent home-decorating budget doesn't have to mean that you're stuck with the same home environment as last year.

With some creativity, open-mindedness and a little elbow grease, you can update your interior without breaking the bank - and end up with a one-of-a-kind design in the process.

One of the easiest no-cost ways to spruce up the home is by subtracting what's in it. Julie Brown of San Francisco interior design firm Re:Design, says that editing - that is, removing as much clutter as possible from a room - can have a big impact.

"Just pack away the knickknacks and empty vases in boxes for a month and enjoy the new clean look," she said. "You can always bring things back later."

The key is to do so with intention. "Even a few white wine bottles lined up can look interesting, if each has a single flower in it," she said.

With luck, these suggestions will get you started in thinking not about how little you have to spend on your home this year, but how much you have to work with.

Bring the outside in

Mother Nature provides some of the best and least expensive decorating materials around. A walk through your yard or a park can turn up:

Tree branches: Long branches can be arranged in a clear glass vases for a minimalist look. Stones or marbles at the bottom of the vase will provide a sturdy anchor, and you can tie or wire several branches together using twine or floral wire.

If you have budding trees in your yard, like forsythia or dogwood, cut a few and arrange them against a mirror to double the effect. But don't cut branches from trees in public parks, please. Instead, wind some of last Christmas' LED lights around fallen tree branches for a dramatic light sculpture.

Leaves: Philodendron or palm leaves set in water in large glass vases bring a jolt of greenery to a living room corner. Look for leaves with architectural shapes or interesting coloring; a single large leaf can look perfect in a modern setting. Or put sprigs of different herbs into empty glass yogurt jars for a sweet-smelling focal point.

Grass seed: Fill low planters or kitchen serving dishes with potting soil and plant some grass seed. When the grass is a few inches high, you can add small objects like Easter eggs or small children's toys for a conversation-starting table centerpiece.

Pinecones: The heavy February rains have sent a cascade of pinecones to the forest floors in the area. Collect the best specimens and arrange them in a woven basket as is. Or, once they're fully dry, spray paint them with metallic paint and display them on cake stands arranged around a pillar candle.

Shells, stones and beach glass: Piled into a clear dish, stretched out along a shelf or mantel, or clustered in small groupings, these are objects that beg to be touched and studied. Putting a shell up to your ear, listen for the ocean (or the faint sound of economic recovery).

Repurpose

One step above recycle on the waste-management chain, repurposing means taking an object and putting it to new use, thereby keeping the object out of the waste stream and your wallet out of the store.

The reuse gurus at Oakland's East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, San Francisco's Scroungers' Center for Reusable Art Parts and Berkeley's Urban Ore live to help us discover creative new uses for the household detritus that builds up around us such as wine bottles, old frames and carpet samples.

Textiles: A sewing machine can transform fabric remnants or household textiles into an astonishing array of new goods. Try sewing four to five napkins (matching or not) end to end to create a dining room table runner. Brightly printed napkins and dishtowels can also be sewn together to create pillows to liven up an old couch or bedroom headboard.

Kenan Shapero, director of SCRAP, says her customers flock to the array of fabric samples and remnants that the center receives from professional seamstresses, interior designers and stores going out of business.

"We do have people come who are working on upholstery projects, but a bolster cover is something anyone could make," she says. Simply sew a tube of fabric and tie off the ends with strips of matching or contrasting fabrics. Shapero also likes the look of cutting a slit lengthwise in an empty wrapping paper roll, covering it with fabric, and slipping it over a drapery rod to add a dash of color or texture to a window treatment.

Paint: Still one of the most affordable home updates around, a gallon of brightly colored paint can do wonders to dispel home design boredom. Mismatched wooden chairs are the picture of eclectic chic when they're all painted the same shade. A single bright accent wall changes the whole feel of a room at a fraction of the time and cost of painting the entire space.

Sample sizes: Small glass, fabric or laminate samples left over from home design projects can lead the budget-minded decorator in many directions. Try arranging sample squares in a checkerboard pattern on top of an end table or dresser and attaching them with glue (you may need to use a mat knife, available at art supply stores, to size laminate squares).

SCRAP also sells carpet samples from which carpet mosaics can be designed. "You just need to lay out your design and then attach the squares to each other with gaffer tape or duct tape," says Shapero, resulting in a quick update underfoot in the home office or living room.

Everyday art: Don't overlook the eye-catching potential of everyday objects like wine corks and bottles. Linda Levitsky, director of the East Bay Depot, has been gluing wine corks dropped off at the store into an old frame for months. "It's an art piece," she declares, and could double as a record of day trips to Napa for area residents. Also hanging on the wall at the store is a gigantic silver fish whose scales are made of used CDs.

Try framing lace doilies, Grandma's handkerchiefs, children's paintings, or a collection of baseball ticket stubs for an exclusive piece of art that is on display only in your home art gallery.

Think big: Nate LeFever, who works at Urban Ore in Berkeley and is studying historical home and site preservation, made a bathroom vanity for the store's employee bathroom by cutting a whole in the top of an old dresser and dropping in a sink. If that sounds daunting, rest assured that LeFever and his colleagues are glad to provide technical help. "We tell customers to find something close to what they want, and we can help them take it the rest of the way."

And if the burbling fountain at the front of Urban Ore made entirely of scrap pieces is too complicated, you can always try a stationary garden sculpture of found objects instead.

Reshuffle

We all need a change of scenery now and then, and the same principle can also be applied to furniture and home decor. Simply by circulating an item out of the spot it has inhabited for the past eight years can give you a chance to see and appreciate it anew. "Invite a friend over and ask them to help you rearrange your existing furniture," Brown suggests. "It's amazing what a different perspective can do for a room."

Other ways to tackle the reshuffle challenge:

Everyone rotate: Swap out an item in your living room for one in your bedroom, or slide something from the kitchen into the dining room. A narrow side chair can make a colorful and sturdy nightstand, and a dresser pushed under a mirror in a front hall is a convenient place to stack library books and a bowl for house keys.

If you can manage to fit a small couch or bench into your kitchen, you'll wonder where your cooking audience ever sat before.

Indoor/outdoor: Consider moving "indoor" chairs and small tables onto porches and patios to turn those outdoor spaces into a welcoming extension of the home. Once the weather is nicer, it will induce you to spend more time outdoors than in, so you won't miss the seating. Or bring in a piece of wood or iron patio furniture, softened with some coordinating pillows, to add a rustic touch to an indoor space.

Rearrange your art: "Random artwork scattered around a big room with no focus is a disaster," Brown says. "By centering paintings for emphasis on furniture groupings, you can reinforce the focus of the room." You can also group lots of smaller artwork into a larger "collage" to give it more emphasis. Brown suggests laying out the pattern for the collage on the floor first before transferring the art to a wall.

Art swap: Open a box of wine and invite your friends over for an art show and swap. Everyone brings a piece they can stand to live without for a few months and gets to borrow a new-to-you item in exchange; the arrangement could work for furniture, too. Just make sure that swap pieces are labeled with the owner's information and agree to ground rules beforehand. These might include the duration of the swap and emergency opt-out clauses, like when the aunt who gave you the painting of a sad clown is due for a visit and you need to rehang it, pronto.